Chainsaw Safety...

[Cast Iron]

Sure, in the banana belts feel free to go assless. Here the black flies are more than your "nibblers"; they draw blood. You hear ...blood.
BUT: don't forget the ticks. They love to snuggle into crevices.
Full wrap chaps do not cover crevices.
Challenge: come north assless in a few weeks. Protect us.

 

[Manly]

Sure, in the banana belts feel free to go assless. Here the black flies are more than your "nibblers"; they draw blood. You hear ...blood.
BUT: don't forget the ticks. They love to snuggle into crevices.
Full wrap chaps do not cover crevices.
Challenge: come north assless in a few weeks. Protect us.

I fully appreciate the fierceness of the carnivorous black fly. I have confronted them in northwest Maine during the spring hatch. We also have veracious vectors to deal with; striped butt borer, the glute gorer, back door beetle as well as common ass worms. Ticks do present a real challenge. They do not seem to be repelled by natural stench or glandular odors. Common wisdom in these parts is to buck with a trusted partner, then upon completion immediately pick ticks from each others exposed and inaccessible areas. Do closely check in all nooks, crannies, crevices and under all flaps of flesh. Tick borne disease is not something you want to take lightly or have to deal with. Take my word, I have had lots of diseases and tick borne is unpleasant. Thank you for bringing this health issue to the forefront. Always wear your PPE and secure your chaps. Manly

 

[Cast Iron]

Buck away oh Manly, oh Manly.
But use PYRITHRIN on clothes.
DEET on skin.
Forget the "partner". The DEER TICKS are smaller than a peppercorn. Often missed on a body check.
And, forget nude cutting......though maybe in CT and Philly, and L.I.

 

[Manly]

Buck away oh Manly, oh Manly.
But use PYRITHRIN on clothes.
DEET on skin.
Forget the "partner". The DEER TICKS are smaller than a peppercorn. Often missed on a body check.
And, forget nude cutting......though maybe in CT and Philly, and L.I.

Nude cutting???? Oh man you are getting a bit funny here. You must be yanking my Oregon chain. Manly is out of here.

 

[Cast Iron]

Black fly alert ....with frost warnings.
We are manly here.

 

[firefighterjake]

I use to always stock up on this when black fly season struck (which is right now here in our part of Maine). The good news is that they don't seem to be as bad as they use to a few years back and only hang around for a few weeks until it gets too hot for them. The bad news is they reappear when the weather is near perfect with comfortably warm and sunny days.

 

[Cast Iron]

FYI Black Flies do indicate a clean water area where they breed.
It's why there are no urban black flies. Just thot you'd like to know.
And, do not use Jake;s "Woodman's Fly Dope"on a date.

 

[Manly]

FYI Black Flies do indicate a clean water area where they breed.
It's why there are no urban black flies. Just thot you'd like to know.
And, do not use Jake;s "Woodman's Fly Dope"on a date.

The clean water postulate makes sense to me. We don’t have traditional black flies where we cut and we don’t have clean water. We tend to foul what is not already putrid. It’s the nature of our activity. Oily wood chips and personal waste tends to permiate the local flora and fauna. It is just inescapable. I think the biggest culprit is the aftermath created when you dynamite the stumps. Messy but totally unavoidable. How do you manage to keep your local waters clean? I would not think of using fly dope on a date. Strictly Spanish fly and ruffies.

 

[Manly]

Heat Alert! Summer has arrived here and safety becomes paramount as always. Hydration is so important now, yet gets overlooked often when we are in the woods. Our rule of thumb is for every gallon of fuel we carry into the woods, we carry in a gallon of water, or other digestible fluids. With all the safety gear in place, body heat builds up to dangerous levels. Rule of thumb, for every hour of work, 15 minutes of cool down sans jacket and chaps. Helmut stays on. Logging, bucking and rolling in the woods this time of the year presents challenges unique to the season. Insects not withstanding, hydration should be at the forefront. It's predicted to hit 90's here today and we are just rolling in to the thicket. Flies be dammed!

 

[Ashful]

Our rule of thumb is for every gallon of fuel we carry into the woods, we carry in a gallon of water, or other digestible fluids.

My favorite “digestible fluids” are bourbon, rye, and gin.

On the subject of hydration, someone on this forum recommended Nuun Active Hydration tablets, and need to thank them. I have been using it ever since. It’s like Gatorade for adults, an athletic hydration drink without all of the sugar and food coloring that put me off of Gatorade and other sports drinks. You can buy it as a pack of tablets on Amazon, and you just drop one tablet into a 16 oz. water bottle with an ice cube or two. It’s all I use when working outdoors in the heat, anymore.

 

[Cast Iron]

Heat Alert! Summer has arrived here and safety becomes paramount as always. Hydration is so important now, yet gets overlooked often when we are in the woods. Our rule of thumb is for every gallon of fuel we carry into the woods, we carry in a gallon of water, or other digestible fluids. With all the safety gear in place, body heat builds up to dangerous levels. Rule of thumb, for every hour of work, 15 minutes of cool down sans jacket and chaps. Helmut stays on. Logging, bucking and rolling in the woods this time of the year presents challenges unique to the season. Insects not withstanding, hydration should be at the forefront. It's predicted to hit 90's here today and we are just rolling in to the thicket. Flies be dammed!

No right minded logger, home firewood harvester, or assorted saw people ever would cut seriously in late Spring or certainly not Summer.
Most harvesting and logging up real north ( not CT. or Philly ) is done in Fall or Winter. The work is hard, develops sweat and wet stuff.
When it is above 50 F the hands get so soaked that it is hard to hold a saw.
Hydrartion hereabouts is ale.
Real cutters ( sic) never ever work the woods in warm weather.....that is over 50 F.
And, remember those black flies in the North that tell the knowledgable to "get out". Note well.

 

[Manly]

No right minded logger, home firewood harvester, or assorted saw people ever would cut seriously in late Spring or certainly not Summer.
Most harvesting and logging up real north ( not CT. or Philly ) is done in Fall or Winter. The work is hard, develops sweat and wet stuff.
When it is above 50 F the hands get so soaked that it is hard to hold a saw.
Hydrartion hereabouts is ale.
Real cutters ( sic) never ever work the woods in warm weather.....that is over 50 F.
And, remember those black flies in the North that tell the knowledgable to "get out". Note well.

As I type this message me and my sweaty posse' are still deep in the bowels of the local forest, cutting, bucking and grunting. It reached 90+ big degrees yesterday afternoon, but we sweltered on. It cooled off last evening as we slept on the cool infested ground. No, we are not right minded. We have a ritualistic drink, consisting of oxen urine, amanita muscaria mushroom juice and gin, which helps us cope with the heat and keeps us focused. This is consumed prior to take off and periodically as needed. We coat our hands and gloves with pine pitch to increase grip. Always putting safety first. As far as the flies go, they tend to dissipate once you work up a good stench. The oxen urine/mushroom combo really gets you stinking, the gin just takes the edge off. We may not be in the real north, but we are real manly and real knowledgeable. As far as ale hydration goes, that has to wait until our mission is completed, then we head directly to our local pub, wrapped in chaps and stories of the wood. Work safely. Got to go, my saw is running away with a wood fairy. Manly

 

[firefighterjake]

No right minded logger, home firewood harvester, or assorted saw people ever would cut seriously in late Spring or certainly not Summer.
Most harvesting and logging up real north ( not CT. or Philly ) is done in Fall or Winter. The work is hard, develops sweat and wet stuff.
When it is above 50 F the hands get so soaked that it is hard to hold a saw.
Hydrartion hereabouts is ale.
Real cutters ( sic) never ever work the woods in warm weather.....that is over 50 F.
And, remember those black flies in the North that tell the knowledgable to "get out". Note well.

Around here folks cutting professionally pretty much cut year round with a break typically in Spring when the roads are posted for heavy loads and the mud is just too much. While the colder months see quite a bit of cutting, the fact is it's done in late Spring and Summer as well since the paychecks need to keep coming in.

As for this unprofessional . . . I cut wood when a) I have the time or b) the opportunity presents itself regardless of the season . . . although I try to avoid cutting in the Spring so I don't accidentally take down a tree with a bird's nest and eggs or fledglings in it and Winter I'm usually too busy having fun snowmobiling.

 

[Manly]

Around here folks cutting professionally pretty much cut year round with a break typically in Spring when the roads are posted for heavy loads and the mud is just too much. While the colder months see quite a bit of cutting, the fact is it's done in late Spring and Summer as well since the paychecks need to keep coming in.

As for this unprofessional . . . I cut wood when a) I have the time or b) the opportunity presents itself regardless of the season . . . although I try to avoid cutting in the Spring so I don't accidentally take down a tree with a bird's nest and eggs or fledglings in it and Winter I'm usually too busy having fun snowmobiling.

Good points Firepersonjake. One's professionalism should not be based upon the time of year they cut, the location of their wood or the style of their chaps. Everyone's situation is different and judgementalism just abounds these days. My posse' and I tend to cut in the spring and summer since we spend most of the winter building snow forts and having snow ball wars. Traditional winter activities run deep in these parts. Unfortunately we do bring down quite a few bird's nest in the spring. However we do not let the eggs go for naught. We package them for sale and pass them off as pigeon eggs, which are quite popular in our area. We have been having a very successful cutting season thus far and should have reached our goal prior to the start of pork season.

 

[bholler]

No right minded logger, home firewood harvester, or assorted saw people ever would cut seriously in late Spring or certainly not Summer.
Most harvesting and logging up real north ( not CT. or Philly ) is done in Fall or Winter. The work is hard, develops sweat and wet stuff.
When it is above 50 F the hands get so soaked that it is hard to hold a saw.
Hydrartion hereabouts is ale.
Real cutters ( sic) never ever work the woods in warm weather.....that is over 50 F.
And, remember those black flies in the North that tell the knowledgable to "get out". Note well.

Uhhhhh i know lots of pros and lots of guys cutting firewood who cut tgrough the summer. Just because you cant handle the heat doesnt mean others cant. You no realize there is a whole world full of people outside of your little region who do things differently. And not being able to cut over 50 really?

 

[bholler]

Black fly alert ....with frost warnings.
We are manly here.

Manly but cant handle working over 50 degrees lol

 

[Manly]

Uhhhhh i know lots of pros and lots of guys cutting firewood who cut tgrough the summer. Just because you cant handle the heat doesnt mean others cant. You no realize there is a whole world full of people outside of your little region who do things differently. And not being able to cut over 50 really?

I too was a bit befuddled by a woodsman who would not cut wood in the summer. But then as my Grandmother used to say, "If you can't handle the heat, get out of the woods." How much wood can a woodcutter cut if a woodcutter can't cut wood in the summer? How true, once you get out of your little region you will see a whole big colorful world of change and wonderment. Come on into our woods in the heat of summer and you will see things that will amaze you, bewilder you, and possibly disgust you. But hey, to each their own. Over 50, heck we're not even warmed up until 69. High heat and insects, that's what assless chaps and ritualistic elixirs are for. So don't be afraid, get on out there and feel the burn. Manly

 

[Cast Iron]

No sweat Befuddled.
But never in Summer. Too many other things to enjoy: climbing, parties, swimming holes, early morning light for runs, etc... etc......
"When a tree falls ...." in snow, no sound, no wet handles or wet pants. Easier to skid out. Less ground damage. Less strain on Mr. Woodman.
......and, no bugs that you swallow or raise red spots of blood.
....and, in winter Mr. Woodman can p_ _ without swatting away those flying invaders.

 

[bholler]

No sweat Befuddled.
But never in Summer. Too many other things to enjoy: climbing, parties, swimming holes, early morning light for runs, etc... etc......
"When a tree falls ...." in snow, no sound, no wet handles or wet pants. Easier to skid out. Less ground damage. Less strain on Mr. Woodman.
......and, no bugs that you swallow or raise red spots of blood.
....and, in winter Mr. Woodman can p_ _ without swatting away those flying invaders.

Some of us are busiest in the fall and winter. Not to mention much of the winter the ridge where i typically cut is inaccessible due to snow and ice. I typically dont cut much in the spring the ground is to soft and makes access tough. So that leaves me with summer to cut. I already work outside all summer so i am used to the heat so its not that big of a deal. And yeah there are lots of bugs but i deal with them all day to so another hour or two isnt a problem

 

[bholler]

And i have no desire to drive down an icy mountain road with 3/4 of a cord in the truck. It is just asking for trouble.

 

[My_3_Girls]

I use to always stock up on this when black fly season struck (which is right now here in our part of Maine). The good news is that they don't seem to be as bad as they use to a few years back and only hang around for a few weeks until it gets too hot for them. The bad news is they reappear when the weather is near perfect with comfortably warm and sunny days.

My grandfather had a hat that was doused in that stuff. Gram made him keep it on the porch at night!

 

[Manly]

No sweat Befuddled.
But never in Summer. Too many other things to enjoy: climbing, parties, swimming holes, early morning light for runs, etc... etc......
"When a tree falls ...." in snow, no sound, no wet handles or wet pants. Easier to skid out. Less ground damage. Less strain on Mr. Woodman.
......and, no bugs that you swallow or raise red spots of blood.
....and, in winter Mr. Woodman can p_ _ without swatting away those flying invaders.

I am always amazed at the regional differences in recreational activities, work procedures and rituals. It is this cultural diversity that strengthens us as a wood cutting community. It is who we are. We must embrace our diversity and differences. In our area there are just too many things to enjoy during the winter to cut wood. Snow forts and snowball fights dominate the regional landscape during the winter months. You will find the occasional outlier going rouge and off in the woods cutting during the winter months. Typically they will be shamed and ridiculed to conform to the norm. We just don't tolerate that type of behavior. It is not who we are. Probably the biggest deterrent to winter cutting in our area is the fact that everyone has assless chaps. Your buttocks can get pretty cold here in the winter, not to mention your cubes. I regretfully announce I will be retiring from this thread as we are preparing for a two week trek deep into the woods for one last marathon of cutting, bucking and all manner of things woodsy, to be completed just prior to pork season. Happy cutting all wherever and whenever you desire, and please be sure to wear all appropriate PPE. Manly

 

[Cast Iron]

In winter we cut, ski, drink, socialize. No time for the "cultural diversity" of snowball fights and forts in this "wood cutting community".
Enjoy the sweat and bugs. "Diversity" indeed.

 

[Manly]

In winter we cut, ski, drink, socialize. No time for the "cultural diversity" of snowball fights and forts in this "wood cutting community".
Enjoy the sweat and bugs. "Diversity" indeed.

Just returned from the deep thicket. We reached our goal well before the start of the pork season. I did feel compelled to reply to this since I am so safety oriented. You state in winter you cut, ski, drink and socialize. I surely hope you do not cut and drink (imbibe in adult beverages) at the same time. This is like mixing baked beans and mountain dew, deadly! Drink and ski; well all I can say is think Sonny Bono. Not good. Drink and socialize? Again this can be deadly; think Liberace, Rock Hudson or Freddie Mercury. They all drank, socialized and it did not turn out well. No time for cultural diversity? You are shutting yourself out from all the possibilities and potential this big bubbling pot of a stewed country has to offer. Come out and cut with our diverse crew and you won't know what country your in, what language to speak, or even where you are. That is living the dream my friend. Come with us out to the local club after a hot summer week in the deep woods and you may never go back to your old haunts. Just saying there is more than one way to cut the stump. Please be safe and never imbibe when engaging risky behaviors. Manly

 

[Cast Iron]

"Don need no 'diversity' " when harvesting in winter. Firewooding is normally done solo for safety, enjoyment being in woodlands, for efficiency.
Don want anyone around when felling.......any one.
No bugs, quiet felling onto snow cushion, less damage to ground getting the wood out. Need more ?
Don need no "club" except called Stihl--261, 009, 171, some odd electrics rarely used. My partners.